Chapter 25
Planning
Hour's have passed and the day is new. James sleeps without knowing of the tragedy that befalls him and the others. Will this timeline encounter a similar fate?
"Everyone wake up, I think we have an intruder!" [Kazuha]
"INTRUDER WHERE!"
[Gruff]
Kazuha and Gruffs panic cause everyone to wake up
"There in this tent. It was the spare one we had left out in case Mitasakou came back. The zipper is open now." [Kazuha]
"Did you ever try checking if it was him or not."
[Iro]
"Yeah! If it's really an intruder they'll definitely be on their guard now because of you!"
[Reloj]
"Can you all stop it! Some of us are actually trying to sleep. Also stop being idiots for a second and try sensing for James 'Origin*'. His and the Origin gods exist on a different plane of reality so it's hard for people like Kazuha, Dumbass (Reloj). To find it."
[Sora]
*Origin is the core/source of life for all beings on Omni. Only few people in the world have the power to sense it or know that it exists. This is a universal weak point for all beings on Omni.
"Hey who are you calling a dumba-"
[Reloj]
A yawn can be heard from the tent.
"Ahhhh. Good Morning World! Man am I tired. Woah everyone is here to greet me...? Why are you all ready to pounce?"
(James)
"Oh it really is you Mitasakou. Glad your back. From where I don't know but that doesn't really matter. What matters is that you're alive."
[Gruff]
"Same here! But why are you speaking so weird?"
(James)
"Huh? I'm speaking weird. Do you guys think so?"
[Gruff]
"No nothing sounds different still the same deep voice."
[Iro]
"Woah Iro you're speaking amazing. But back to the topic. It's not just Gruff, even you sound weird."
(James)
"Maybe you need to get your ears checked."
[Iustitia]
"Where's Sera? Maybe she'll hear what I'm hearing."
(James)
"Who's Sera?"
[Thomas]
"WOAH WHAT THE HELL! What is going on! Sera WHERE ARE YOU!"
(James)
Suddenly time freezes.
"Book Of ____. Skill #_: ______. A pitiful test Rosè. Next time James will stop you, not me. He will grow to replace me and YOU will learn to stop underestimating him."
(Mesa)
Time resumes
"Master!? You're back? It's really you!"
(Sera)
"Sera. You are here. I was worried something happened to you. Also you're speaking normally. There's no weird filter anymore."
(James)
"Normal? Filter?"
(Sera)
"Don't worry about it. Doesn't seem to be that big of a deal."
(James)
"Wow are they're just ignoring us."
(Iro)
"Oh my Iro isn't a mute?!"
(Sera)
"I literally have been unconscious this entire time. You kinda sleep for a long tine when your erased from existence than recreated again."
(Iro)
"Yeah that did happen didn't haha."
(James)
"Ok glad your back boss. Now what's our next move?"
(Gruff)
"Nice job Gruff this can't turn into a slice of life. But our next plan is tooooooo-."
(James)
"-Head to the closest town. Sorry you seemed like you had forgotten so I just took the lead."
(Sera)
"Thanks Sera. I don't know why but everything is so foggy at the moment."
(James)
"Where is the next town? Actually scratch that. We should be planning our route towards the Capital. We should ask our members who actually live/lived here. So Kazuha, Timeman, what is our Plan?
(Sora)
"Man you guys came here with no route. It's a good thing I've been planning this for 17 years. Here is a map of The Land of The Sun."
(Kazuha)
Kazuha brings out a 25 foot map
"So we are all the way here in the West. At the Yowai Hikari Realm or YHR or Realm 5. The lowest branch in The Land of The Sun's hierarchy. The Land of The Sun is roughly 40 million square miles and most of the terrain is forest and mountains. The only plains are in the East. But overall the entirety of the land is a perfect square in fact all of The Lands. The Land of The Sun is split into 5 main Realms. The already mentioned Yowai Hikari Realm, The Kirameku Realm, The Kagayaku Realm, The Hikari Realm, The Tayio Realm, and The Tengoku Realm/ Heavenly Realm. But each realm also has 2 sub-realms where a Harbinger resides. Unfortunately we have to go through each sub-realm due to the layout of how they are set. But fortunately for us the Yowai Hikari Realm is under no Harbinger. So our plan will have to take in these factors."
(Kazuha)
"Man Kazuha, you really thought this out. But why did you leave these places? The Andros place we have to go to next is there."
(James)
James points a black line that separates each realm on the map it says the _____ realm
"The name is Taboo. No one born here or that has lived here for more than two years can say it. If you do, the omnipresent sun will strike you down, erasing you from existence. I can write it down for you to say it though."
(Kazuha)
Kazuha writes down the letters I K A R and I
"The Ikari? Hmmm who are these people? They weren't mentioned in the hierarchy. Why are they so taboo?"
(James)
"They're sinners branded with a curse. That burns when they show any sign of rebellion or hatred to Amaterasu and The Land of The Sun."
(Reloj)
"What makes one become a sinner?"
(Gruff)
"Well it's the same conditions to activate the curse. But there's also losing a trial, parents selling you, partricide, and following a different origin god."
(Reloj)
"You seem to be very familiar with this topic. Do you happen to be or know one of these Ikari?"
(Sora)
".....yeah. I, uhhhhh know one ...."
(Reloj)
"Sorry this seems like a touchy subject. Let's move on. Kazuha, is there any chance we could avoid Andros?"
(Sora)
"No, we have to go there. But once we are locked away from true freedom we have to go on a set path until we reach The Heavenly Realm. So everything starts in this city. We'll have to live under the Omnipresent Sun. I assume we're all prepared."
(Kazuha)
"Of course."
(James)
"Always."
(Gruff)
"I'm fired up. Let's show these Harbingers who we are."
(Iustitia)
"Yeah..... wait, who are the Harbingers exactly?"
(James)
"Oh right of course you guys wouldn't know. The Harbingers or the 12 Holy Rays. Are a group of well...12 strong and powerful people in the Land of The Sun that hold high authority as if they were Tengoku. These people were handpicked by Amaterasu himself and from what I heard from Gruff even someone like him is considered trash in his eyes. So you can see that the Harbingers are basically forces of Nature after all they are demi-gods. When we leave Andros the ones we should encounter are Cleo and Tempest. I don't know if the Harbingers are ranked by strength but even if they were, the strength gap would be really small. So don't try to think you can take them down based on their ranking."
(Kazuha)
"Kazuha, you've been a really big help so far. I'm happy to welcome you to the team. But there's something I have to ask you. Do you really not know who Origin is?"
(James)
"Yeah. I never heard of another god called Origin. The entire 4th Land is an entire mystery to most of the world. There's little knowledge of it in any books."
(Kazuha)
"Then what about the Mitasakou clan."
(James)
"That name!.... It's another taboo. But yes I know of it. They are the only thing in the 4th land ever remotely mentioned or spoke of. They're a band of people who target the Origin gods. There were 4 of them embodying power from all of the lands but in a conflict 250,000 years ago 2 of them died and 2 of them vanished. I assume you are one of the ones that vanished."
(Kazuha)
"Hmmm that's odd. It was 5 of us. But one of them I can't remember their name. But no you're wrong. No one died. I'll tell this story another day. It's too much right now. I'm just glad that history hasn't been erased. Anyways, let's go to this city and leave quickly. But if we can try to look for more allies or methods to hone your skills. We need all the help we can get. Sera how long?"
(James)
"6 hours master."
(Sera)
"Ok Time to start our journey in The Land of Heaven."
(James)